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The Barista's Life: Moments of Effort and Perseverance, All for a Single Guest!

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Hello everyone! I'm someone who lurks in multiple coffee groups and navigates various social platforms as the ultimate observer. As both a barista and a writer, I habitually open chat pages after work to see what experiences other baristas have had throughout their day. Over the past few years, I've witnessed how consumers' attitudes toward coffee culture have evolved, and I've seen firsthand the dedication that goes into every cup served. This blog shares my perspective on the challenges and rewards of being a barista in today's specialty coffee scene.

Hello everyone! I'm someone who lurks in multiple coffee groups and browses various social platforms, always the first to witness interesting stories. As both a barista and a writer, I habitually open my chat apps after work every day to see what other baristas have experienced during their day.

Over the past few years, I've witnessed consumers' journey from being unfamiliar with coffee to now having increasingly higher expectations for it. This is truly something to celebrate for the coffee industry. However, every era brings different soul-shocking requests from customers that leave baristas in tears...

Shock Level: 🌟

"Why don't you add milk to your Americano coffee?"

"Americano is black coffee! No milk, no sugar~"

"The Americanos I usually drink have milk!"

"Which coffee shop did you have it at?"

"At home! I make my own Americanos with milk!"

- When encountering such situations, it's best to directly meet the customer's request for their Americano. If you continuously explain that Americanos don't contain milk or emphasize that Americanos are sugar-free and milk-free, it can easily lead to unnecessary disputes. The existence of Americano stems from people having different requirements for coffee concentration, which is why they add water to dilute higher-concentration coffee according to personal taste.

Among Americanos, there's also a drink called "White Americano," which is made by adding a small amount of heated milk to the diluted coffee. Therefore, Americanos to this day don't have a standard preparation method—the standard is simply the taste that the person drinking it desires.

Shock Level: 🌟🌟

"I'd like a Kenya coffee!"

(After a professional brewing process...)

"Wow! Why is your coffee so sour? Have the coffee beans gone bad?"

(OS: You ordered Kenya!)

"Because the soil in the Kenya region has high phosphorus content, the coffee beans grown there tend to have more pronounced acidity."

"Don't give me such complex explanations. The coffee I usually drink isn't sour! And why isn't your coffee made with a coffee machine, yet you're selling it for 40!"

"May I ask if you usually drink Americano coffee?"

"Yes! I just think 'Americano' doesn't sound good, so I gave it a different name."

- When encountering such situations, you must stay calm, don't get angry, and definitely don't roll your eyes in front of the customer! Use a tactful tone to explain to the customer that each coffee category has its corresponding products. If they specifically request a coffee bean region/name, baristas typically extract it using pour-over methods.

Coffee itself is an acidic beverage. Whether the acidity is pronounced depends on the coffee bean variety and roast level. The longer the roasting time, the less acidic the coffee becomes, and the darker its color~ Then you can pick up beans for comparison to show the customer the differences.

We can also take this opportunity to introduce pour-over coffee to customers, encouraging them to explore how different extraction methods can bring out interesting aspects of coffee. For those who don't like acidity, we can suggest trying dark-roasted coffee beans next time.

Shock Level: 🌟🌟🌟

"Are your single-origin coffees good?"

"All our single-origin coffees are quite good~ And we have many options!"

(Takes out cupping spoon and cupping bowl)

"Really? Then I need to cup them first. Otherwise, how would I know if they're truly good?"

"... I'm sorry, but we don't offer cupping services here."

"You don't even have confidence in your own coffee. This service is unacceptable!"

- Hmm... Customers who can pull out cupping spoons and bowls are not ordinary. At first, I thought this was just a joke, but I've since witnessed customers bringing their own cupping spoons to request cupping (for free) before deciding whether to buy coffee beans. In such situations, all we can do is clearly state that we don't currently offer such services~ If customers claim that other places do this, we can ask for the address to go learn from them.

Such requests might exist because some coffee shops prepare samples of coffee in advance for customers to taste, allowing them to choose their preferred coffee flavor before deciding which coffee beans to use and which extraction method. However, under such circumstances, customers need to pay for a cup of coffee first before this service is provided.

Shock Level: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

"I'd like a washed Yirgacheffe pour-over coffee."

(After the barista finishes extraction, the customer takes a sip)

"Your coffee has an astringent aftertaste. It must be because the water quality is poor! Fill some of the water you just used for pour-over for me."

(The barista obediently fills a cup of filtered water...)

(The customer takes out a water quality test pen and puts it in...)

"99ppm... Your water has too many impurities! No wonder there's astringency! You should use purified water for brewing coffee. Do you even know what you're doing!"

"..."

- Again, customers who have these tools are not ordinary. Do impurities in water affect coffee extraction? Yes! But water quality at 99ppm is actually suitable for pour-over coffee... The TDS for pour-over coffee water is generally between 75ppm-250ppm. Appropriate amounts of calcium and magnesium ions help with coffee extraction. If there's too much calcium in the water, it might make the coffee's astringency more pronounced. If there's too much magnesium, it might make the coffee's bitterness more pronounced.

A water quality test pen can measure the concentration of dissolved substances in water, but it cannot reflect the content of each dissolved substance. If the coffee's astringency is pronounced, it might be due to improper brewing techniques, temperature, or grind settings. Alternatively, if the water's acidity is high, it can also increase the coffee's acidity.

But one thing is certain: coffee brewed with purified water cannot effectively extract the flavor compounds from coffee because it's too pure (0ppm)! Perhaps this customer prefers coffee with a lighter taste, but purified water is not the ideal choice for coffee shop brewing water.

Shock Level: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"I'd like a Guoding Ding pour-over coffee."

(After the barista finishes extraction, the customer takes out a TDS concentration meter, doesn't drink it, and directly takes a small spoonful to test the concentration)

"Your coffee's concentration is 1.37%! This exceeds the SCA Gold Cup extraction standard of 1.15%-1.35%."

"I'm sorry, why don't you take a sip first? If you feel it's not right, I'll brew another cup for you~"

"No need! You're just unprofessional! Take this cup away. I'm not coming back!"

"..."

- I'm tired of saying that customers who bring out these tools are not ordinary! In fact, no explanation is needed in such situations—whatever you say won't convince the customer. Is coffee that exceeds 1.35% by a small margin necessarily bad-tasting? Obviously not.

The Gold Cup extraction standard is just a reference standard set by specialty coffee to reduce disputes caused by individual differences in judging coffee concentration. It's not 100% necessary for coffee to be within this standard range to taste good, nor does going above or below this range necessarily make coffee taste bad.

Today, customers have higher expectations for coffee, which is the result of the collective efforts of all coffee professionals. However, some people inevitably have misconceptions about coffee knowledge and theoretical data. When facing such situations, if baristas view these as challenges to their professionalism, they might mistakenly treat these questions as attacks on their expertise, leading to unpleasant incidents.

We can't demand that everyone understand coffee before drinking it, nor can we prevent people who might know coffee from overusing data and theories to do things that shock baristas. "Ignorance is not a crime"—while it's frustrating, problems always need solutions. What we can do is stay calm and composed when these things happen, doing our best to convey better information to customers in ways that everyone can understand.

If you encounter 3-5 star shocking situations, you should fight magic with magic, maintain your professional stance, don't rush, and respond with professionalism. If the customer needs to save face, then take a step back for a broader horizon—getting angry yourself helps no one. Of course, choose the former~ As the saying goes: as long as you're not embarrassed, the embarrassed ones are others.

Although we encounter all kinds of customers every day, some unpleasant but also many pleasant ones. The reason we can all persist is surely because of customers' recognition of our work. Therefore, we should believe in our professionalism and believe that through us, more people will come to love coffee, making the coffee industry better and better.

Image source: Internet

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